Gran Bahia Príncipe El Portillo Information

On the exclusive beach of "El Portillo", this idyllic resort, Gran Bahia Principe El Portillo is located a few minutes from the village of Las Terrenas, surrounded by spectacular nature that will please the most demanding customers.

Arrival: Jan 4 - 11, 2009
Air Canada flight down. No delays, cleared customs quickly and then directed to the bus. The drive to the hotel was about 1 1/2 hours through a beautiful mountain terrain. We left Toronto at 8:30 and we in our room by 3:00 p.m.

Rooms:
We were in Villa 2. Excellent location. Close to the beach, restaurants, etc. Clean, spacious, no problems. We requested a 2nd floor, king bed and that's what we got. Because we flew AC the safety deposit box was free. As well, if you take your own laptop they have wireless in the reception area and you don't have to pay for internet connection. Nice to send e-mails home when you want.

Restaurants and Bars:
We tried all 4 al a cartes. Nothing special but just fine. The buffet was good. Always something there. The staff are a little slow at removing the plates but so what...you are on holiday!!!

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Small pool, not much going on....the beach however is stunning. We have travelled extensively throughout the Caribbean and it was one of the nicest. You can walk for miles on floury golden sand and crystal clear water. There is a reef right off the beach and we saw many fish while snorkeling. We had issues with the sand fleas (numerous bites) but we seemed to be the only ones. No one else we talked to complained. The grounds are beautiful. Well maintained, lush...beats the snow back home

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We did the El Limon Waterfall tour. My first time on a horse (bucket list). After a very pleasant drive to the ranch we were given a horse then rode through some beautiful but rocky terrain. Climbing down to the falls was a little arduous but we did it. My husband swam while I took pictures and then back up the mountain to get back on the horse. We had a delicious Dominican lunch and were back to the hotel by 12:30, just in time for a drink and siesta. The only issues I had was my screaming thighs for 4 days afterwards but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Other Comments:
As mentioned we have been to the Dominican numerous times (Punta Cana, La Romana, Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo) and all through Cuba, Mexico and many islands in the Caribbean and found that this hotel was good mainly because of the beach and there is not another hotel for miles unlike Punta Cana. The hotel could be a 5 star if some small issues were looked after but if you want a stunning beach, good food and some R&R this is the place. The resort was just great for what we paid (sell off). If you are looking for those little extra's then you should considering spending considerable more money and go the Levantado or a Sandals!!! We don't typically go to the same place twice but we might make an exception!
denisepratt@hotmail.com

Arrival: Dec 27 2008-Jan 3 2009
We were a group of 6 and they did not have the name of one of our twosome at the airport however they still allowed us on the bus to the hotel- a porter demanded a tip before putting our luggage on the bus.Check in took quite a while as we felt they really did not have the info on the 3rd registration.

Rooms:
The rooms were all junior suites-we had actually pre-paid extra for one junior suite so although I was pleased that we all got the suites I am ticked that I paid $80 extra to have the one.

Restaurants and Bars:
We went to 3 of the 4 theme restaurants and felt very rushed to order our meal and eat it. Even though we had more waiters in the theme restaurant we felt we had more time to dine at the buffet.The waiters in the theme room did not speak ony more english than anywhere else. The food at the buffet was quite good and we felt there was enough variety- the beach bar which had an all day snack bar was great for lunch- The drinks were plentiful and we did not feel they were watered down too much. the new Year's eve dinner was great with lots of crab, salmon and special food beautifully set up.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was great-lots of chairs- and tables we never had any shortage-we did have a problem with sand fleas-sea kayaks were plentiful and we easily could get the catamaran once a day-the beach was quite windy however not enough to stop us from spending the entire day until sunset down there- snorkeling was fun and there was also beach volley ball and soccer available for the children.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
we took the catamaran tour for the day- It is over priced for what you get. They take you to 2 spots for snorkeling however these are not very good spots to see anything- some nive corals but not much in the way of fish- there have got to be better spots down there.

Other Comments:
We had a great holiday however it was very typical DR-with most of the staff not speaking any english and not overly friendly or helpful. Tipping was essential. The maid service was excellent-The business with towel cards was just plain silly-I was also surprised to have to pay for a room safe- I have never had to do that at any hotel previously- I fell that they were trying to nickel and dime us with those sorts of things.

Arrival: December 20-27, 2008:
We were on Air Canada's inaugural flight to Samana. It didn't get off on the right wheel as they didn't have the flight scheduled or there wasn't a plane ready or something? The details were a little fuzzy, however, they did offer us $10 per person at Wolfgang Pucks which we took advantage of. We were delayed by about two and half hours and we were sent through security with HAND WRITTEN boarding passes, that's a first!

I don't know the type of plane, the seating configuration was 3 & 3 and had the personal entertainment system in the head rest in front of you, very comfortable three and a half hour flight. When we landed we were greeted by two fire engines spraying an arc over the plane for their inaugural landing in Samana, another first for us. We exited the plane by both front and rear exits and we were the only plane at the airport, needless to say, we were processed very quickly through customs.

No cerveza at the departing area for the one hour drive to the resort. We met our Conquest rep and we were on our way in due time. Try to arrive in the daytime if given the choice, there are some breathtaking views along the way. Depending on the driver, they'll stop for photos.

Check in took a little while, most of the people on our flight were in the same hotel too. This was a good thing as it was real easy to make friends with familiar faces.

Rooms::
We bought into the Roulette Jr. Suite deal which means we didn't know until we made contact with the Conquest rep. which resort we were at. It could have been El Portillo or Cayacoa. We were at El Portillo, at first we were put into a standard room with a king size bed, I thought that was the junior suite, we went to the front desk to pay for the in-room safe key approximately $40usd for the week, we were informed that they had put us in the wrong room. Well, the real junior suite was even more impressive, room #8201, very large bedroom / living room area and the toilet, shower had there own segregated areas within the bathroom, very clean and no sign of creepy crawlers, bugs or anything else. We are not slobs and didn't invite any bugs either.

The mini-fridge was stocked daily with two beers, two waters and four soft drinks. Just leave a note and a tip if you want more than two beers or any other beverage left on a daily basis. If you arrive to your room without the bellhop, you need to insert one of your room keys into the white wall slot on the inside of your room to activate the power and a/c in the room. The shower had plenty of force behind it and all you had to do is place old towels on the floor to receive new ones.

Our balcony overlooked a utility shed of some kind and the property line where there was some palm trees and lush vegetation. There are no ``Ocean view`` rooms as the resort is set back from the amazing beach. We were approximately a five minute walk to the beach from our room.

Restaurants and Bars::
We did not reserve a la cartes until the next day after arrival and to our disappointment, could only get one of our entitled three reservations and that was at the oriental restaurant. As it turned out, we did not take advantage of the a la carte and we dined exclusively at the one buffet restaurant. The food and variety was o.k. to good, always fresh eggs for omelettes in the morning to theme dinners in the evening. The most important fact, neither one of us had any ill effects from the food or water. I do have to commend the resort on their X-mas eve gala dinner, it was exceptional, we had caviar, crab, traditional turkey was available, they accommodated a table of twelve outside for us, live music, a special X-mas with our new family of friends.

The bars were good, never had to wait too long, there were three bars fairly close to the beach, remember to bring a travel mug, there cups are small and it is a waste of plastic. The drinks are made well, not half alcohol like I have experienced in other all inclusive resorts. They only had El Presdente on draft and local spirits, there drink list was good and we tried a few of them. I enjoyed the Caiperhinjas, a white rum, sugar, lime and some other mix, very good!

Beach/Pools/Grounds::
The beach was incredible! If you are looking to body surf the waves, this is not the place for you. If you want soft golden colour sand, great coral reefs right off the beach, then this is paradise. The snorkelling was excellent, there are still plenty of areas where you can go for a dip and cool off. Never an issue for a beach lounge chair, they had plenty, no need to RESERVE your chair and leave, I hate that. It was fairly windy on most days, but, we preferred that to the pool.

We only spent literally ten minutes in the pool, we just couldn't pull ourselves away from the beach. The pool was a bit cool, and to me, a little small.

The grounds were very clean and well maintained with lots of lush local vegetation.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel::
We enjoyed a couple's deep tissue massage on site at the spa (not the one on the beach, that looked a little suspect for our liking) for one hour. $150usd for both of us, a little pricey but enjoyable.

We also went on the Cascade (waterfall) half day excursion, approximately $45usd per person, this was awesome. The drive was about thirty minutes in a unique type of bus, followed by forty minute horseback ride to a shaded rest area for the horses, then, a fifteen minute walk down to the falls, just beautiful. Go for a dip if you like, just remember you have to ride back in wet bathing suit or take a change of shorts. Bring hikers, I went in sandals and had to wear their rubber boots. Your shoes will get dirty. It is a very rocky and rustic trail which crossed the river a few times, but, the trail was beautiful in its own right. We each had our own horse and guide / horse whisperer, these guys walk the whole trip in rubber boots, every day. You can opt not to take a horse, I wouldn't recommend this option, it is pretty hilly terrain and it would wipe you out the rest of the day. I was sore enough from riding the horses, never mind hiking the trail on foot.

I was fortunate to meet a fellow Canadian who knew a thing or two on sailing, Admiral Perry! We were able to take advantage of the catamaran that is available, the shoreline is beautiful and it was a pleasure to see it from out on the water. I went out with Perry on three different occasions.

Enjoyed playing Bocce ball on the beach with Perry and Bob, you can get the bocce set from the animation team where they hand out towels.

The Disco was hit and miss. We had two great nights out of three visits where there disco was hopping pretty well, thanks to Bob and his tequila shots!

Other Comments::
We are an easy going late 30's couple and were looking for a place to catch some sun, relax and re-charge our batteries, we got this and more. The beach is fantastic, we met some new friends and had a great time and didn't get sick. With the new airport, this area will explode with tourism, visit now before it's too late.